Chapter 303: Don’t Call Me Pioneer

Immediately the purge edict was uttered, Hagen’s spasms stopped entirely, and his body slumped, lifeless, to the ground.

Both Osmund and Madoc reared back subconsciously, taken aback by how… simple it had been. The shock of losing their comrade was there, of course, but they had expected something more cataclysmic to happen. This was a Greater Fragment after all. One that was still very much bound to a person too.

It wasn’t until Finn snorted from the side and spoke that they understood what had actually happened.

“Casmir… He extinguished the fragment himself before it perished,” Finn said. His eyes remained fixed on the corpse, watching the faint, dissipating trails of soul essence that were retreating into the void rather than being truly purged.

Madoc and Osmund frowned immediately. This was the first they were hearing of an original fragment bearer possessing the authority to extinguish a fragment from a holder remotely.

Did that mean the same could happen to them at any time? They both exchanged grim glances before looking forward resolutely.

“So what are your plans now, Pioneer.” Osmund asked, while Madoc moved to carry Hagen’s body. A proper burial was in order. To them, he deserved that much.

“Don’t call me Pioneer…” Finn corrected. “I’m no pioneer or man of prophecy. Anything Madoc saw was put in his head by Casmir, the original fragment bearer for you both,” he gestured between Osmund and Madoc.

“I have a score to settle with him personally…” Finn’s tone was cold. “…but that will come in due time. For now, I need to get off this island.”

Finn strode forward, heading in the direction of Osmund’s side of the island.

“Osmund,” he called without looking back. “What exactly do your people know… or think about me?”

Osmund hurried to Finn’s side, though his eyes lingered on Hagen’s body being carried away by Madoc. He clearly wished to be there for the burial. But Finn was moving on to the next thing, and Osmund wasn’t willing to make Finn disgruntled at all.

Not that he thought Finn wouldn’t understand, but for some reason, he felt it more appropriate to attend to Finn first, rather than Hagen. In his mind, Finn’s distrust of him was still there, at least to an extent.

One had to remember that while Finn had been trapped back in time for years, gaining an age and wisdom that didn’t show on his youthful face, a full month was yet to pass in this real world. To the inhabitants of the island, Finn was still the mysterious stranger who had appeared out of the waves only a few weeks ago.

And, for Osmund, the memory of how distrustful Finn initially was was still fresh in his mind. Hence, the reason for his attempts to create a smooth relationship.

Though whether this was a concern to Finn, or whether he even remembered at all, remained to be seen.

Thankfully for Osmund, though, in regards to Hagen’s matter, Madoc seemed content to handle it alone, a wordless message passing between both of them.

Osmund nodded and caught up to Finn, walking alongside him to the Anaelle settlement on his side of the island.

“Well… it’s a mix,” he finally responded to Finn’s earlier question. “They all saw you wash up unconscious at the shores when you arrived. They know you somehow crossed the Stagnant seas…”

“Some of them think you’re… the Pioneer, like Madoc had prophesied would come to save us…” he paused. “But others, making up the larger majority than the former, bear similar thoughts to what Hagen had thought…”

“Hmm?” Finn hummed, motioning for Osmund to continue, clearly interested. “Well, what exactly do they think of me? I couldn’t particularly glean anything from Hagen’s manic words other than a general desire to see me dead.”

Osmund cleared his throat lightly, then spoke:

“Well… they think you to be some sort of fallen angel. One that has been cast away. A bringer of doom and evil tidings. Here to cause chaos to a land at peace…”

Finn’s face lit up in humor, and he turned his head to look at Osmund as they walked. “That was a surprisingly detailed description, Osmund. Are you sure you share none of those opinions?” There was a playful glint in his green eyes, but the underlying power in his gaze made the question feel like an interrogation.

Osmund visibly paled, and he seemed to become smaller as he quickly bowed his head deferentially.

“Not at all, Finn. I am simply trying to be as truthful and fully open as possible. I would never—”

“Ahh, it’s a joke. It’s a joke,” Finn waved his hand, the smile on his face already gone, replaced by one of exasperation. “Ugh. I kind of miss the old, easy Osmund. You’re so stiff around me now.” He let out a long sigh, looking out toward the horizon where the wave of the Stagnant Sea met the sky.

Osmund looked up at Finn covertly, and the lol in his eyes seemed to say: Stiff? Why wouldn’t I be stiff?! If you could feel the terrifying presence emanating from you, even you would be stiff!

But that expression disappeared as quickly as it came, as Osmund simply laughed as naturally as he could.

“Well, I have to accord you the level of respect you deserve, naturally,” he wanted to continue with some more flattering words, but Finn’s disinterested expression made him clear his throat and continue his earlier talk.

“About my people. You have to understand that the reason why they think what they think of you isn’t unjustified,” he said. “They have waited years upon years… generation upon generation… hoping and believing in the pioneer that was coming to save them…”

Finn frowned.

“Generations? Wasn’t it Madoc who made the prophecy? How come it’s generations now?”

“Oh, you’ve got it wrong, Finn,” Osmund shook his head. “Madoc was not the first to speak of this prophecy to my people. All he did was make it popular again, speaking of the visions he saw…”

“Rather,” Osmund continued. “It was the original Space Transcendent that did it first.”

Finn turned his head fully this time, slowing his strides as Osmund spoke. The mention of Casmir’s direct involvement in the Anaelle’s folklore changed the entire shape of the puzzle.

“Right when our ancestors were first brought here, he let them know of this great pioneer, speaking of him as though he… feared him,” Osmund cast a glance at Finn, who was staring straight at him with a thoughtful expression.

“You are sure this is true?” Finn asked after a few seconds.

Osmund nodded carefully.

“Hmm…” Finn held his chin in thought.

What game are you playing, Casmir…?

It was puzzling to say the least. Why plant that seed in their hearts from an age so far back? And why specifically them?

Time aspect? Finn thought. It was a fact that Madoc could now manipulate time to an extent. An offshoot of his space magic, as space and time were inherently intertwined.

But that was only a recent development…

Or was it?

Finn tapped his chin softly. If there was one Transcendent Finn would call extremely talented, aside from Thalia back then, it would be Casmir.

The man was a prodigy in space magic. Finn wasn’t surprised he must have figured time magic out way back, and only now used that card through some of his fragments.

Hmm… It seems I’m playing chess with someone who’s seen the whole game ahead already…

The thought should have been daunting. But Finn didn’t seem especially worried. In fact, he was less concerned with the fact that Casmir could control time, and more focused on exactly why he had made this specific move. There was a logic to it that eluded him, a reason why Casmir wanted the Anaelle to both wait for him and fear him at the same time.

I guess I’ll just have to find out as time goes on, Finn thought, before resuming his normal pace again.

He switched the subject from talks of Casmir, back to the Anaelle and there reaction to him again:

“How do you reckon I should treat your people?” he asked Osmund. “Should I be this Pioneer… this Savior you’ve all been waiting for? Or should I just be on my way, cross the Stagnant Sea, and leave you all to your own devices…?”

Osmund breathed out calmly. He could hear the implied question Finn was asking him:

“Why should I go through the stress to save all of you? I have no particular ties with any of you. If I decide to leave you all to stay here forever, it wouldn’t change a thing with me.”

It was now up to Osmund to show Finn the value the Anaelle could provide to him.

For the first time, Osmund cracked a light smile:

“Well… For starters, our average soul density is extremely high compared to the average human…” he said. “In fact, much, much higher. While Ossuarist-level soul density occurs only once in ten thousand human births, the same for us is once in a hundred births.”

That elicited a slight raise of Finn’s brows. Those were good numbers. Very good numbers. In fact, that was better than the human odds of birthing an Arcanist, not to talk of Ossuarists, which were long ways off.

But that only interested Finn slightly.

So the Anaelle could birth a lot of Ossuarists, big whoop. What was he to do with that? Ossuarists took time to develop. Time that he did have at the moment. He needed immediate results, not a long-term nurturing program.

Finn’s pace slowed, as if he was considering whether to even visit the Anaelle settlement at all, or just head for the Stagnant sea directly now.

But Osmund hadn’t finished.

“And for another,” he continued. “…we can produce faith.”

This time, Finn’s attention was fully and totally grabbed.

He smiled lightly and his eyes glowed a familiar green as he stared at Osmund.

“You should have started with that.”

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